


Black Dog

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Anger, Best Friends, Cisco is broken and deserves support, Confessions, Crying, Depression, Exhaustion, Fear of Powers, Forehead Touching, Gen, He deserves to be treated better, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Insecurity, Lack of Communication, Loneliness, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Physical Abuse, Realization, Secrets, Self-Destruction, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Sleepiness, Team as Family, Temporary Character Death, Touch-Starved, Verbal Abuse, his angry because his friends dont treat him well, poor boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 11:53:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16117886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: True friends are not the ones who make your problems disappear. They are the ones who won't disappear when you are facing your problems.Cisco learns that his friends will be there if he needs them and Barry learns that Cisco is full of unseeable problems.





	Black Dog

**Author's Note:**

> I really love the Flash and yeah, so what I've only started watching it, I've been following it for years. This is probably really out of character and the dialogue is wrong but you know what, I tried. 
> 
> I love Cisco lots and I hope none of you gets mad for fucking him up like this. He's just really angry and he deserves to be treated much better by his friends. 
> 
> He's just a sad broken man who hides his insecurities behind laughter and jokes. 
> 
> Tell me what you think xx

The piercing whistle of the kettle broke the silence as Cisco stared out the window, cup of coffee already prepared in his mug and awaiting the boiling water. It was late he thinks, but he doesn’t know what time it is- hardly knows what day it is really. He’s been up for so long that now the only thing keeping him going is the many cups of instant coffee.

Once the latch clicks and the red light turns off, Cisco pours the steaming water into his mug and watches absentmindedly as the clear water darkens to brown. He pushes his hair behind his ears as he sighs. He knows Barry’s coming. Cisco vibed on him before he entered the kitchen and knew that Barry was considering coming over.

A blur of red and the crackle of lighting behind him told Cisco that he was absolutely right and he turned around to see Barry leaning against the counter with his arms crossed as the papers and lightweight objects dropped unceremoniously to the floor. “Hey man, are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” Cisco replied, mug held carefully in front of his face. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Harry said you’ve been up for a while,” Barry offered, trying to dodge around the subject. He looked quickly around the room- at the papers full of scientific scribbles strewn everywhere, the heavy textbooks, the multiple dirty cups which probably once held coffee- and turned back to Cisco with a somewhat strained smile. “I haven’t seen you around Star Labs for a while either. Is everything alright?”

Cisco took a calculating sip of his coffee. “You’d know if I wasn’t alright, Barry, believe me. I probably wouldn’t even be on this Earth.”

Chuckling, Barry bent down and began to clean up the papers he had blown over in his entry, slowly so Cisco could watch him. “That’s fine. I was just making sure. Caitlin’s been really worried.”

“Awh, worried about little old me?” Cisco smiled and lowered his mug so he could hold it in both his hands. “I knew she cared.”

Rolling his eyes, Barry forgot his pretence of going slow and rapidly picked up the papers and when Cisco blinked, the pages were stacked into neat, categorised piles on the counter. “What are you even working on in here? You’ve got so many notes but none of them about the same thing.” He paused and turned sheepishly to Cisco. “I uh, I read them. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Just some equations,” Cisco said, avoiding the question. He reached up and pulled a clean mug from its place in the cupboard and moved to the ketal. “Would you like some coffee?” He waited for Barry to nod before combining coffee grounds and sugar in the mug and adding in the still-boiling water. He handed it to Barry for the speedster to stir.

“What kind of equations...?” Barry asked suspiciously.

Shrugging, Cisco returned to his coffee. “Nothing important.” He said as he took another sip. He decided it would be best to change the topic. “Would you like something to eat? I won’t be able to feed you a full Flash approved meal but I’m sure I have something.”

Walking to the pantry, Cisco winced at the limited amount of food on the shelves. Half a loaf of now mouldy bread, a few cups of instant noodles, a stale bag of chips and a few bottles of salsa. From Barry’s surprised gasp, he realised the fridge wasn’t any better and when he turned around he grimaced at Barry’s shocked expression as he took in the bottle of expired milk, the bruised fruits and vegetables in the cooler, the chunk of cheese he had forgotten was even in there, the jar of olives and what was left of a six pack of beer.

“Cisco, what is this?” Barry asked, aghast. “Is this all the food you have in your entire house?”

“Uh no, I’m sure I have some chocolate _somewhere_.” Cisco defended but shrunk back at Barry’s withering glare. “Um, maybe. I’ve been busy, I guess I just forgot to go shopping. You know, being a superhero and helping you save the world and all that.” He shrugged as he turned away, closing the pantry door behind him. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll go out tonight.  No biggie.”

Barry scoffed as he approached Cisco and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around. “What are you talking about? How long has this been going on?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Cisco said as he stifled a yawn behind his fist. He looked out the window again and wished that telling the time at any moment came with his powers of inter-dimensional travel. “I didn’t even notice really. I feel like you’re going to need something. Do you want to go to the living room? I have some of that Flash-proof alcohol for you if you’re willing to have the night off.”

Before Cisco could make his way to the living room, a red blur with crossed arms and stern features zoomed in front of him and Cisco stopped himself before he could bump into it. “Stop trying to dodge the questions Cisco. You don’t need to lie to me, I can tell that something is going on.” Barry’s tone was commanding and oh, how Cisco hated being bossed around by anyone, regardless of which villain or friend or family member was giving the orders.

“Yeah well, it’s not like you’ve ever cared about how I was before so I don’t know why you’ve decided to change now.” Cisco grumbled, crossing his arms in a mirror image of Barry.

“That’s not- what are you talking about?” Barry spluttered, obviously very taken aback. “What- what do you mean I’ve never cared? Cisco, you’re my best friend, of course, I care about you!”

“Mmhmm.” Cisco hummed, unimpressed and unconvinced. “Sure. You say that all the time. Yet here you are, in my home, pestering me for answers for something you didn’t even know was an issue until Harry and Caitlyn pointed it out to you. I’m sure it was Iris who convinced you to come over here, wasn’t it?” Barry’s guilty wince was enough evidence to Cisco that he’d hit the nail on the head. “Well don’t worry. I’m fine. You made the trip over here for nothing and I’d be sorry but we both know you’d use every excuse you could to run through Central City. You can go back and tell the other’s that they have nothing to worry about and that I’ll be in by the morning.”

Cisco was taking great joy out of the floundering look on Barry’s face. “Cisco- that’s not true at all. You know how much I care about you. Where are you getting this from? This isn’t like you.”

“It’s also not like you to care about my private life but you’re still getting in my face about the food in my fridge and the notes on my counter.” Cisco snapped, pushing past Barry and into the living room. The room was a mess, empty wrappers discarded on the floor, dust covering the carpet in a thin layer of filth, the blanket thrown over the back of the couch placed there with disregard. “But you’re not really here for me. What did you need?”

“Harry uh… Harry needed a part you were building. For that device.” Barry said absentmindedly, voice almost too quiet to be heard. “I don’t know what device he was talking about but he told me you’d understand.”

Walking to the bookshelf, Cisco pulled an electronic device with moving parts and rotating pressure valves and handed it to a surprised Barry before sitting down heavily on his couch. “Tell Harry not to break it this time. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Instead of the blur of red and the crackle of lighting that Cisco expected, Barry just stood there, looking at the device in his hand in shock before looking up into Cisco’s face. “Uh, Barry, you’re still here.”

“When was the last time you slept, Cisco?” The question was innocent and kind.

Cisco could only imagine what he looked like- he hadn’t glanced at a mirror in a long while. His skin was probably pale, highlighting the dark bags under his eyes from long sleepless nights. His face was probably worn out from stress and his eyelids were dropping from exhaustion. Not his greatest moment. Truthfully, he didn’t know the answer.

"I'm not sure. It doesn't matter." Cisco grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the TV up louder before dropping it on the cushions beside him. "Nothing to worry about."  
  
Suddenly then TV switched to a black screen and when Cisco turned around, Barry was putting the remote down on a cabinet by the door. "Cisco, I need you to tell me what's going on."  
  
"You need me to or you want me to?" Cisco retorted, spinning in his seat to face Barry. "Because there actually is a difference between those two things."  
  
"Why don't you want to tell me?" Barry exclaimed in exasperation. "What's going on with you?"  
  
"The same thing that’s been going on for years that you've never noticed." Cisco snapped and Barry took a step back as if physically attacked by the words. "Only now you're suddenly realizing it and you're expecting everything to be ok."  
  
"I can't help you if I don't know what the problem is." Barry shot back.   
  
Sighing, Cisco muttered something unsavoury under his breath about speedsters sticking their noses where they don’t belong and he met Barry's eyes. "The nightmares are coming back. You know. The one where Reverse Flash sticks his hand through my chest and kills me."  
  
Wiping a hand down his face, Barry mimicked Cisco's sigh. "You could have told us. Caitlin would have given you something to suppress them."  
  
"I know. That's why I didn't say anything to Caitlin. You guys are always trying to push me and my problems to the sidelines instead of helping me take care of them. It’s one of my powers. Why would I want to use pills or shots to suppress the only reason you guys keep me around?" Barry looked down to the floor, ashamed. "My powers are a part of me. I wouldn't get rid of them for anything."  
  
"You were so afraid of them when you first got them," Barry said fondly as he remembered a time that seemed so long ago. "And now they're such a huge part of you. I'm really proud of how far you've come in accepting yourself."  
  
"Yeah well, you don't show it," Cisco muttered bitterly. "You're always making me do things that I don't want to do. And then when I actually do it, you tell me I'm doing it wrong."  
  
Barry ran a hand through his hair. "Come on Cisco, you know it's not like that. You're my best friend and I never want to hurt you."  
  
"Right. Sure. Whatever you say." Cisco grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring angrily down at his lap. "None of you see it. That's alright. I don't know what else I expected."  
  
"Cisco-"  
  
"No, Barry, this one time you're going to listen to me." Cisco's voice was dangerously low even to his own ears. "You all treat me like crap. Harry, Caitlin, you- everyone treats me like I’m less than you. Even my own family did.”

Shaking his head, Barry slowly approached Cisco but paused once his friend held his hand out. “No way, you don’t get to apologise your way out of this. I’m sick of being kept around just because I’m smart and can get you places.”

“That’s not true!” Barry exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. He paused when he saw Cisco flinch and frowned as he slowly lowered his arms. “Why… why are you flinching?”

“Oh gee, I wonder why.” Cisco snapped, digging his fingers into the dusty fabric of the couch. “It’s not like you’ve never seen Harry hurt me and throw my things across the room. He doesn’t scare me to get me to use my powers or throw me up against the wall to get me to do what he wants.” Cisco snapped, his every word dripping in sarcasm. “Or maybe you have seen it and just thought it wasn’t worth the trouble caring about it would bring.”

“I didn’t know you cared that much about it,” Barry said. “If it’s that bad for you, why don’t you just tell Harry to stop it?”

“He’s my family, Barry.” Cisco thought it should have been obvious. “And believe me, I’ve had practice at dealing with abuse from my family.”

Barry bit his bottom lip, shaking his head violently. “Why are you suddenly telling us this now?”

“Maybe because I’m sick of being treated like a nobody?” Cisco shot back, standing up abruptly and forcing Barry to take a step back. “Because I’m sick of doing everything for you and getting nothing in return?”

“Come on man.” Barry wined, running his hands through his hair. Barry, for the long time that he’s known him, has never known Cisco to be so angry. Not at him. “It’s not like that.”

“Do you know, Barry, that every time I’m right, you guys shut me down?” Cisco said, voice shaking in anger. “I was right about Harry and that stupid Thinking Cap but you made me build it anyway and it ruined his mind. After I accepted it, I ended up being right about our Doctor Wells and Caitlin didn’t believe me. I was right about Killer Frost and you all told me I was wrong!”

Guilty, Barry gulped, eyes darting around the room. “I know we did Cisco, and I’m sorry that we screwed up but it won’t happen again, alright?”

“You said the same thing last time!” Cisco bellowed and suddenly there was blue light shimmering from his fists as his body began the process of breaching, flowing strands of energy whirling around his fist. “You never care about what I have to say.”

Quickly, Barry’s hands snapped up to grip Cisco’s shaking ones in his own, holding them close to his chest and rubbing his thumb over the skin, ignoring the sparkling energy that emanated from his fists. “Listen. I know we don’t hang out as much as we used to when we first started the team. I know I haven’t been as good a friend as I should have. But I’m here now and I _know_ it’s too late but I’m here and I’m willing to listen. Let’s talk.”

Uttering a garbled sob, Cisco looked down at his hands held tightly between Barry’s. “I sometimes… I sometimes hear these voices. In my head. Sometimes it’s Snart and he’s threatening to hurt Dante, or asking me if I’m alright. Sometimes it’s Felicity, begging me to save her or helping me hack into some kind of database. Sometimes it’s Wells, the first Wells from our world and he tells me… he tells me he’s proud of me and that he loved me. And then he sticks his hand through my chest.” His voice had grown soft by the end of his confession and Barry squeezed his hands in solidarity.

“There are nights when I wake up and I can’t breathe. My heart… it feels like it’s in a vice and I’m sweating and I’m cold and… I don’t know why. I’ve been meaning to talk to Caitlin but… I didn’t want her to know.”

“Panic attacks,” Barry said quietly. “There are benzodiazepines that could help…”

“I’ve already tried that.” Cisco gently pulled his hand from Barry’s and pulled out a drawer. He reached his hand in and pulled out an orange container, filled halfway with white pills. “They don’t work.” He placed them on the tabletop and placed his hand back into Barry’s as if craving the touch. The blue energy crackling around his knuckles was starting to dissipate. “I’ve tried different doses… thought that maybe it wasn’t having an effect on me because I’m a meta but… it didn’t help.”

“How long has this been going on?” Barry asked, trying to keep his voice even and comforting despite the horror threatening to fester. How had he not noticed?

 “A while,” Cisco admitted. “A couple months, maybe? I’m not sure.”

Barry shook his head in surprise. “And you never told any of us?”

Shrugging, Cisco averted his eyes back to his hands and the light finally fading from his fingertips. “There are a lot of things I haven’t told any of you.”

“Well,” Barry sighed, gently pulling Cisco back down onto the couch with him, hands still held together between their bodies. Cisco’s face was wet, tears falling silently down his cheeks as he tried his hardest to keep his breathing even and his sobs contained within his chest. “Tell me now.”

Taking a deep breath, Cisco closed his eyes. “I feel like none of you guys want me around anymore. I don’t mean to blow smoke up my ass but everyone we’ve met has said it- I am and I could be really powerful. But all you guys use me for is breaching you to criminals and vibing on meta's we can’t find. Sure, I’m great in the Cortex helping you through dire situations but I can’t help but feel I could be more help out on the field.”

As Cisco was speaking, Barry suddenly realised that he was absolutely right and that Barry had no reason to be keeping Cisco away from the action. He had no right to do that.

“And even Caitlin, she used to be my best friend and now she hardly talks to me. I feel like I’m too much of a burden for you guys to want around.” Cisco was sobbing now, his breaths coming in sharp, heaving hiccups. “I sometimes don’t even want to come into work.”

“Oh, Cisco,” Barry tutted in sympathy. “That’s not what we think at all. You mean so much to us. We wouldn’t know where we would be without you.”

"I'm so scared of my powers sometimes that I don't want to use them in case... in case I turn out like Reverb. He told me I had enough power to become a God. I don't want to become a God but I'm worried that the more I use my powers the more I turn into _him_." Cisco's breathing was coming in fits and bursts. "I never stopped feeling guilty for Ronnie, even though we found out he was alive, I never ever stopped hating myself for it."

Barry squeezed Cisco's hand as his friend sobbed through his confessions. "Why haven't you told any of us? We could help you- all of us. You don't have to carry these burdens alone."

“I’m just… so sick of being alone. Every time I have someone, someone who I love and wants to spend time with me, they leave and I have to be alone all over again.” Cisco gasped wetly, tears making his breathing slick. “I thought I could have that with Cynthia, but I was always going to be alone, whether we breached to each other or not. I’m even alone at Star Labs and I just… I can’t handle it anymore.”

“We’re always going to be here for you, no matter what.” Barry insisted, squeezing Cisco’s hands. “We won’t ever leave you alone if you don’t want us to. Hell, I’m sure Joe wouldn’t mind if you came to stay with us.”

“I always feel left out.” Cisco continued. “Especially now with Ralph- I don’t hate him. But we used to be so close and now you’re spending more time with Ralph than you ever did with me. You’re trying to… trying to teach Ralph how to use his powers. Trying to help him control them. You never did any of that for me. I had to figure it out on my own.”

Barry paused, momentarily considering his next words. He knew Cisco was right but… “I tried to help you. You told me you didn’t want my help.”

Sobbing, Cisco shook his head, hair falling forward from behind his ears to cover his face from Barry’s view. “Forcing me to use abilities I was afraid of and couldn’t understand so it could help you do what you needed wasn’t ‘helping’ me at all.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Barry sighed. He wasn’t used to seeing joking, laughing, excitable Cisco so miserable and detached. Maybe Barry didn’t know his friend well at all. Maybe he hadn’t been paying close enough attention. Maybe, with everything going on, he had noticed but just didn’t care. “I’m sorry man.”

Cisco pulled his hands slowly from Barry’s and after wiping his nose with the back of his hand, left them limply in his lap. “I’m sorry too.”

Tilting his head, Barry tried to reach for Cisco’s hands again but his friend recoiled. Barry held back a wince. “What for? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I’m sorry for not being brave,” Cisco muttered, as if afraid of the words coming out of his mouth but being unable to stop them. “I’m sorry for not being useful. I’m sorry for not being smart enough. I’m sorry for not being much help in the Cortex. I’m sorry for not being a great friend. I’m sorry-”

“Cisco, stop it.” Barry breathed, reaching his hands up to grab the sides of Cisco’s head and push their foreheads together. Thankfully, Cisco didn’t pull away. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Especially none of those things. Don’t apologise for doing nothing wrong.” Barry waited for Cisco to nod against his head before he pulled slowly away, keeping his hand on the back of Cisco’s head and making sure their eyes met. “What else?”

Seeing Barry so supportive and features firming as if he’d suddenly developed a new bout of confidence at Barry’s reassurance, Cisco sighed shakily and closed his eyes. “It’s sometimes… really hard for me to be near Wally. Not all the time but sometimes. Because… his suit reminds me… he looks so much like…”

“Eobard Thawn.” Barry supplied when Cisco trailed off, mind caught in its own living nightmare. “I get it. You don’t need to explain.”

It was obvious that Cisco was going to explain anyway. “I know that I was the one who designed the suit and I probably should have done it differently. But I love him, you all know I love him, but sometimes I see him move from the corner of my eye and he looks like Doctor- looks like Thawn.”

Nodding, Barry moved to pull away slightly but held back a smile as Cisco followed him. “I understand. You should tell the others about some of this.”

Cisco shook his head. “No way. I don’t want them to know any of this. I don’t want everyone to feel like they need to walk on eggshells around me.”

“Alright, that’s alright.” Barry offered weakly, guilt setting in like amber between his bones. “Sure. I won’t tell anyone until you’re ready.” Barry doubted Cisco would ever be ready. When the breacher looked like he had more to say, Barry ran his fingers under Cisco’s hair and against his scalp. It was a strangely close gesture, closer than they had ever been, but Barry had the feeling that it was a closeness that Cisco craved. Needed. “Is there… anything else?”

Biting his bottom lip, Cisco looked as though he was forcing himself to speak. “So much.” He whispered, watery eyes meeting Barry’s concerned ones. How had Barry never noticed how utterly _broken_ his friend was? “Sometimes I… consider breaching to another Earth. You know, to get away from it all.”

“Where would you go?” Barry asked, finally pulling away and trailing his hand down to rest comfortingly on Cisco’s shoulder.

Cisco shrugged. “Earth 19 with Cynthia? I don’t know, I’m sure that never would have worked out.” A dry chuckle. “I mostly think about going to Earth 13. The dead Earth? It’s where we sent Fallout’s… fallout. And just as I’m about to go, bags packed and everything…”

“What do you do?” Barry prompted when Cisco trailed off into thought again. “Why don’t you go?”

“I realise how much I hate being alone.” Cisco finally whispered when his lungs could finally take in air. “And that being alone for the rest of my life would be so, so much worse than being treated like dirt by the people I love and who are around me every single day.”

“Oh Cisco,” Barry muttered, pulling his friend close and wrapping his arms around him as Cisco finally sobbed into his shoulder. “You never should have felt like that. I’m so sorry and I know the others would be too. If you told them I know they’d understand.”

“Sometimes I vibe on things.” Cisco gasped through sobs. “Accidently. Sometimes I see the future and- and the past. I’ve seen so many deaths of people I just pass in the street. I saw my own death, once, sometime in the future.” Barry’s hand paused in rubbing Cisco’s back. “And I’ve seen variations of your deaths as well. And Caitlin. And Wally. And Iris. And Joe. And Harry. Everyone.”

Pulling back so he can look Barry in the eye, Cisco shook in his friend’s arms. “I’m not just vibing events or people anymore. I’m vibing feelings. I’ve been doing it for a while but it’s starting to get worse... stronger. I know right now you feel guilty and worried. I know that when Gypsy and I broke up she felt betrayed and disappointed. I know that that woman at Jitters touched my hand when she handed me my coffee was having a really bad day. I can vibe all of that and I don’t know why. I don’t know how to turn it off.”

Sighing, Barry cupped the back of Cisco’s head in his hand and pushed his head back down to rest on his shoulder. “This is something we could have taken care of together.” He said over Cisco’s sniffles. “But now that I know, I can help you any way I can. You really are my best friend Cisco- I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you and I’m so sorry that I have. I promise we’ll treat you better and with more respect than we have been. I’d do anything for you man- just say the word.”

They sat in relative silence for a moment, nothing but Cisco’s strangled sobs, Barry’s comforting words and the ticking of the broken clock on the counter. Soon, Barry could feel Cisco’s breathing turn to deep hiccups and his cadence slow, and whentCisco went limp on his shoulder Barry realised his friend had fallen asleep in his arms.

Slowly, Barry carried Cisco to bed and tucked him into the covers, turning off the lights and locking up the house on his way out before speeding off towards Star Labs in a frantic burst of scarlet lightning.

When he entered Star Labs, they were waiting for him in the Cortex, arms crossed and head's down. Barry took the microphone out of his hear and placed it down on the console. “Well, that wasn’t what I expected.”

“Me neither.” Caitlin looked up, eyes red and puffy as if she’d been crying. “I didn’t know…”

“None of us did.” Joe placed a comforting hand on Caitlin’s arm. “Cisco’s better at keeping secrets than we give him credit for.”

“We really are just a great big bunch of jerks,” Ralph affirmed, bobbing his head. “Never thought it’d be Cisco who’d be the one pointing it out though.”

Wally shuffled his feet, eyes down on the ground and Iris threw her arms over his shoulders. “I feel bad about hanging around so much now. I didn’t realise my suit would make him think of Thawn.” He bit his lip. “What do we do now?”

Looking at Barry as though he had all the answers, Iris squeezed her brother’s shoulders and made her way over to Barry, laying her head on his shoulder. “We have to be there to support him. We have to make sure he knows how loved he is. How much we need him.” She tilted her head up to look at Barry. “Do you think… should we call Cindy? Tell her what’s going on? Maybe she can help him.”

Just as Barry was about to reply, there was the sound of footsteps approaching from the hallway and Well’s walked in, drumsticks tucked into his back pocket and white marker twirling in his fingers. “I believe we all have something to reflect upon tonight.” He sighed, shoulders slumped. “Do not call Gypsy- the reminder will only make his feelings of loneliness worse. I think the best we can do is prove to him that we love him more than he thinks. Help him through his issues. Talk him through his nightmares. Help him understand his abilities. Make him realise that we love him. That’s all we can do.”

“He’s going to be so mad when he finds out we were listening in.” Wally warned. “if he finds out we bugged him…”

“He won’t,” Barry said confidently. “I’ll make sure of it. What he said shouldn’t change our friendship- just make it stronger. He said he’s coming in tomorrow morning- let's make a plan for him then.”

“I’ll get the movies.” Caitlin declared before throwing on a jacket and leaving the room.

Iris smiled at Barry as the others gave themselves jobs and left the two of them alone. “I think Cisco is going to feel much better very soon.”

Barry sighed. “I sure hope so.”

When Cisco woke up the next morning, his house was cleaned, the mess of rubbish and dust on the floor tidied up, his kitchen was stacked full of fresh foods and drinks and his papers that were sitting on the table had been colour coded and categorised in order of topic and importance.

By the door, there was a fresh, hot cup of Jitters coffee with his name written on the label in cursive writing and a note from Barry declaring it was for the “Best friend anyone could ask for.”

Breathing in the fresh air of a new day and pushing open the front door, Cisco made his way to Star Labs and smiled for what seemed like the first time in forever.


End file.
